Category Archives: US News

Pence would be ‘best witness’ in Trump election conspiracy trial, attorney says

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John Lauro slams indictment as full of holes and says Mike Pence could help former boss fight off 2020 election conspiracy charges

Donald Trump’s attorney has suggested that Mike Pence could help his former boss fight off the 2020 election-related criminal conspiracy charges against Trump, claiming that the former vice-president would be the “best witness” for the defence.

In an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, attorney John Lauro played down differences between the former president and Pence’s accounts of what happened in the run up to the 6 January 2021 certification of Joe Biden’s victory over Trump, whose supporters attacked the US Capitol that day.

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Jamie Foxx apologizes after Instagram post draws accusations of antisemitism

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‘I want to apologize to the Jewish community,’ says actor, who clarified that post was directed at ‘fake friend’ who betrayed him

The actor Jamie Foxx has apologized after a social media post from him drew accusations of antisemitism.

Foxx’s post – on Instagram – read: “They killed this dude name Jesus … what do you think they’ll do to you???! #fakefriends #fakelove”. But the 55-year-old entertainer deleted the post after fellow users asserted that it echoed the hateful belief that Jewish people all together as one crucified and killed Jesus Christ.

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Musk offers to pay legal bills of people ‘unfairly treated’ for posting on platform

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Comment comes as company is going through organizational changes and looking to boost falling advertising revenue

Elon Musk has said his X social media platform will pay the legal bills and sue on the behalf of people who have been treated “unfairly” by employers because of posting or liking something on the site formerly known as Twitter.

“If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill,” Musk said in a post on X late on Saturday, adding that there will be no limits to funding the bills.

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Pence has ‘no plans to testify’ against Trump but vows to ‘obey the law’

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‘We’ll respond to the call of the law, if it comes and we’ll just tell the truth,’ says former vice-president during CBS interview

Former vice-president and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Mike Pence said that he has “no plans to testify” against Donald Trump but vowed to “obey the law”.

In a recent interview after federal prosecutors charged Trump over his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, Pence was asked by CBS correspondent Major Garrett whether he would be a witness against Trump if the case went to trial.

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Influencer faces charges of inciting riot after New York giveaway causes chaos

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Kai Cenat drew thousands to Union Square with promises of giving away new PlayStation, leading to dozens of arrests

Social media influencer Kai Cenat is facing charges of inciting a riot and promoting an unlawful gathering in New York City after the online streamer drew thousands of his followers – many of them teenagers – with promises of giving away electronics, including a new PlayStation.

The gathering produced chaos, with dozens of people arrested – some jumping atop vehicles, hurling bottles and throwing punches.

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‘Flu shot cheerleader’ speaks out on being used by anti-vaxxer movement

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Desiree Jennings speaks with NBC about being cast into US spotlight in 2009 after seasonal jab led to unexplainable disability

The woman who was once known as the “flu shot cheerleader” and briefly became the poster girl for the anti-vaccine movement is now speaking out about her realization that she was used as the movement’s “PR machine”.

In a new interview with NBC, Desiree Jennings – who in 2009 was cast into the national spotlight after she went on video and expressed her belief that her seasonal flu shot led to an unexplainable disability involving erratic movements and slurred speech – said that vaccine skeptics recruited her, sensationalized her story and ultimately discarded her after she was accused of being a fraud.

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New York police arrest teen in killing of dancer O’Shae Sibley – report

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Well-known gay dancer and choreographer was stabbed after he and his friends vogued at Brooklyn gas station

New York City police have arrested a teenager in connection to the killing of O’Shae Sibley, a well-known gay dancer and choreographer who was stabbed after he and his friends vogued to music by Beyoncé at a Brooklyn gas station on 29 July.

CBS News reported Saturday that the suspect is 17 years old and faces charges of murder as a hate crime as well as criminal possession of a weapon. He was reportedly booked as an adult, though his identity wasn’t released because he is younger than 18.

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AP Psychology can be taught ‘in its entirety’, says Florida official

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State had told superintendents the course violated a new law prohibiting content on sexual orientation and gender identity

Even though Florida’s government had told school superintendents that the Advanced Placement Psychology course offered to high school students violated the state’s new law prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, it appears students may be able to take the course after all.

In a letter to state superintendents Friday, Florida’s education commissioner Manny Diaz Jr said the state believed the psychology course could be taught “in its entirety”.

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US declines to classify soldier who entered North Korea as prisoner of war

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Decision means Travis King, who is detained in North Korea, is not covered by prisoner of war protections

The US has declined so far to classify army soldier Travis King as a prisoner of war (PoW) despite his being detained in North Korea after he crossed into the country last month, four American officials told Reuters.

The decision, which could mean King is not covered by the protections entitled to prisoners of war under the Geneva conventions, is highly sensitive for the US military given its commitment to leave no soldier behind enemy lines.

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Inside Trump’s ‘alternate electors’ plot to steal the vote in Georgia

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We piece together the astonishing story of how 16 men and women tried to reshape the course of US history

At 11.30am on 14 December 2020, Greg Bluestein, a political reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, hurried into the Georgia state capitol at the start of what he knew would be a momentous day. He was one of a handful of reporters who were to witness the casting of electoral college votes which would officially hand Joe Biden victory in the critical battleground state – and with it the US presidency.

As Bluestein rushed up to the state senate chamber where the 16 Democratic electors were assembling ahead of the historic vote, he passed meeting room 216. He noticed a gaggle of people milling around its heavy wooden door, among them some of the 16 Republican electors chosen to represent Donald Trump should he have won the Georgia race.

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Trump uses UFC in bid to reach new demographic of voters

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Former president’s sit-down to discuss combat sports part of strategy to cater to young men with little interest in politics

During a stretch of campaign stops taking place under the specter of a potential indictment, Donald Trump managed to make time for a sit-down interview on an unlikely platform: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Recorded just before Trump’s appearance at a UFC event in Las Vegas in July, the interview offered a rare departure from the controversial president’s politically charged interviews, instead focusing on his background as a boxing promoter, his all-time favorite combat sports matches, and the hypothetical walkout song he would pick if he were a fighter himself. The hosts described Trump as a “genuine fight fan” and their enthusiasm was palpable as he shared insights on promoting the likes of Mike Tyson during the 1980s.

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Texas judge rules abortion ban too strict for risky pregnancies

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State attorney general immediately appeals against ruling that says doctors must be allowed to end unsafe pregnancies

A judge in Texas has ruled that the state’s abortion ban is too restrictive for women with serious pregnancy complications and must allow exceptions without doctors fearing the threat of criminal charges.

The ruling in Austin was the first to undercut the law since it took effect in 2022 and delivers a major victory to abortion rights supporters, who see the case as a potential blueprint to weaken restrictions elsewhere that Republican-led states have rushed to implement.

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Ron DeSantis’s biggest donor to pull plug until campaign makes changes

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Hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow has contributed $20m to the Never Back Down Super Pac but is now wary of the slow campaign

Hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, the biggest individual donor to a group supporting Ron DeSantis’s presidential bid, has said he will not donate more money unless the Florida governor attracts new major donors and adopts a more moderate approach.

The comments by Bigelow, who gave $20m to the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down Super Pac in March, to Reuters underscore donor concerns about the Florida governor’s struggling campaign.

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California judge arrested on suspicion of killing wife

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Jeffrey Ferguson, 72, arrested in connection with death of Sheryl Ferguson, 65, discovered at home with at least one gunshot wound

A southern California judge has been arrested in connection with the killing of his wife, authorities said Friday.

Jeffrey Ferguson was arrested late Thursday after police received reports of a shooting in an Anaheim Hills home and found the judge’s wife, Sheryl Ferguson, suffering from at least one gunshot wound, Anaheim police said.

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Trump looked like ‘scared puppy’ on way to court, Nancy Pelosi says

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Former speaker says she ‘didn’t see any bravado or confidence’ in comments likely to enrage Trump, a longtime Pelosi foe

Donald Trump looked like “a scared puppy” before his arraignment in court in Washington on charges related to his election subversion, Nancy Pelosi said, comments likely to anger an ex-president the former US House speaker has long delighted in baiting.

“I wasn’t in the courtroom of course but when I saw his coming out of his car and this or that, I saw a scared puppy,” Pelosi told MSNBC.

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John Bolton suggests US will leave Nato if ‘erratic’ Trump wins in 2024

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Ex-national security adviser calls former boss ‘irrational’ and criticizes Republicans who support him on foreign policy

Ex-national security adviser John Bolton issued harsh remarks against his former boss and the leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate, saying that the US will likely withdraw from Nato if Donald Trump wins the election.

In an interview with the Hill on Thursday, Bolton criticized the former president’s foreign policy after an op-ed he wrote earlier this week called Trump’s behavior “erratic, irrational and unconstrained”.

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Black US journalism professor wins $1m over botched university appointment

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Kathleen McElroy, whose history of promoting diversity caused pushback, receives damages and apology from Texas A&M

A Black journalism professor who was hired by Texas A&M University before objections in some quarters over her history of promoting diversity foiled the job offer has secured a $1m settlement from the institution.

Kathleen McElroy also received an apology from officials at Texas A&M, the largest public school in the US, who in a statement Thursday acknowledged “mistakes … made during the process”.

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Mississippi’s Jim Crow-era voting law struck down by federal appeals court

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2-1 ruling on policy that revoked voting rights for certain people with felony convictions is surprise victory from conservative court

A federal appeals court on Friday struck down Mississippi’s Jim Crow-era policy of permanently revoking voting rights from certain people with felony convictions, ruling that it is unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment.

The 2-1 panel ruling is a surprise victory from the conservative fifth circuit court of appeals just over a month after the US supreme court refused to hear a challenge to the discriminatory law.

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Bloomsbury USA president dies in speedboat collision in Italy

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Adrienne Vaughan was on family holiday and reportedly fell overboard when speedboat collided with a sailboat

Adrienne Vaughan, the 45-year-old president of the US branch of the Bloomsbury publishing house, has been killed after a collision between a speedboat and a 45-metre sailboat on Italy’s Amalfi coast.

Vaughan was on holiday in Italy with her husband and two children when the collision happened on Thursday.

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Cyberattack disrupts hospital computer systems across US, hindering services

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‘Data security incident’ began Thursday at facilities operated by California’s Prospect Medical Holdings

A cyberattack has disrupted hospital computer systems across the United States, forcing emergency rooms in several states to close on Thursday and ambulances to be diverted.

Many primary care services remained closed on Friday as security experts worked to determine the extent of the problem and resolve it.

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